Forested landscapes in the Anthropocene
The flow of Chinese forests both highly local and global
M.K. Lau (Ph.D.)
Motivation
Ecological studies are now embeded in the anthropocene
Interconnected world
Global environmental change
Complex systems at global scales
Overview
Background: Anthropocene
Humans = dominant global impact -> Anthropocene
Indirect effecs and The far reach of the city
Complex systems = many players and indirect effects matter
Background: Economy == Ecology
Economic trade data is a window into human impacts
Background: Input-Output Models
How do we quantify and manage systems?
Input-Output Analysis provides a modeling framework
Direct consumption
Trade occurs among sectors == Indirect consumption
IO and MRIO models
A new equation for a new era in science E = F(I-A)^-1
Background: Input-Output Models
exiobase3.jpg
Background: Environmental Extension
Allows for indirect/consumption based accounting
lemrio.jpeg
Background: Environmental Extension
lemrio_equation.jpeg
Background: Networks are Everywhere
resourcetrade_network.jpeg
Background: Networks are Everywhere
example_network.jpeg
Background: Ecological Network Analysis
Ecological network theory provides predictions and metrics (Lau 2017)
Systems theory provides strategies for inteventions
ENA <- Odums, MacArthur, Ulanowicz, Patten,
SNA -> ecological networks (Watts and Strogatz, etc.)
Structure linked to function (Donella Meadows)
Research: Why Chinese Forests?
Work = Forest Land Embodied in Trade
A Brief History of Forest Time in China
China is big and diverse
Long history of human habitation in China
Historically, two primary regions of forestry
Forest conservation impacts harvest
Flows within China and among countries globally important
Research: Why Chinese Forests?